


Conversion Run

by melagan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Canon, Bug!John, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 08:15:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11847564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melagan/pseuds/melagan
Summary: The story takes place during Conversion. Sheppard escapes from Atlantis before Carson's retrovirus can be administered. The team has to find him and bring him home.





	Conversion Run

**Author's Note:**

> Betas Neevebrody and Mischief5 were a wonderful help with this. I've made a few changes since so any mistakes are mine.  
> The idea came from a picture prompt for the Anniversary Challenge at [Story Works](http://story-works.dreamwidth.org/32214.html)
> 
> ~*~

The sound of his own claws clicking against the tiles sounded sharp to his enhanced hearing. Pushing down the last symbol, John Sheppard chittered a clear warning to anyone that might follow and dashed through the Stargate.

Free! He'd escaped the confines of the city, escaped the growing stench of the creatures keeping him under guard. Desperation and brute force had gotten him out of the infirmary. Speed had gotten him to the gate room, but it had taken a lingering human memory to remember how to dial the DHD. 

John ran. His blue toenails, more claw-like than ever, dug into the soft, grassy turf. He skittered around low hanging tree branches barely breaking stride. As he ran, he opened his mouth and breathed in the sweet, rich scent of the forest.

Small animals stirred in the underbrush. They held his interest only as something to feed on later. Dismissing them for now, John tasted the breeze with his tongue. He stopped running and slowly moved in widening circles. Nothing. No scent of any of his kind. No nest mates, no egg mother, no home. A single mournful chirp escaped his throat when he realized he was completely alone. 

But melancholy didn't stand a chance against his joy in running free. John had an entire forest to explore. He'd make his own nest. Maybe he'd steal a few eggs, once he found some. He could guard them until they hatched and then he wouldn't be alone. 

Decision made, he ran until he came to a bridge. Old, wooden, and moss-covered, it spanned a wide stream—too wide even for him to jump and he began pacing the river's edge. A remnant of humanity whispered that it was safe to cross the water; the bridge would keep him from getting wet.

That didn't stop every Iratus bug instinct he possessed from screeching in repulsion. 

*** 

"He got away." Rodney stood in the gate room facing his teammates and feeling guilty as hell.  
"This is all my fault. I never really believed he'd push me away. I thought some part of John must still be in there. How could I have been such an idiot?"

"You are unharmed?" Teyla asked. 

"I'm fine. He didn't hurt me, just shoved me out of the way. But I should have tried harder to stop him."

Ronon reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "Sheppard isn't himself. Blaming yourself for something you had no control over is just wasting time."

"Ronon is right but we must hurry if we are to catch John." Teyla urged him towards the DHD. 

Chuck quickly moved out of the way to give Rodney room to work. 

"Did Sheppard do that to you?" Rodney asked, noticing the odd angle of Chuck's arm.

"I tried to lock down the gate before Colonel Sheppard could get to the DHD." Chuck braced his injured arm and gave him a one-shouldered shrug. "He was faster than he looked."

Teyla gently said, "You need to go to the infirmary. Dr. Beckett will want to look at your arm. Do you need help?"

White-faced, Chuck nodded. "That might be a good idea."

One of the Marines stepped forward. "I'll see that he gets to the infirmary, ma'am."

"Thank you." 

As they stepped away, Rodney overheard Chuck say, "It all happened so fast…."

He believed it. Nothing about Sheppard was slow or safe since he'd begun changing into a bug. But damn it, Rodney refused to give up on him now. 

"Rodney, can you tell where he went?" Teyla asked. 

"Right right. Focus." Rodney opened his laptop and began pulling data from the DHD's console. 

"After Kolya tried taking over Atlantis, I programmed a systematic dialing history into the city's DHD. I thought it might be handy if we knew which gate our enemies were returning to. Just in case we decided to lock out that address.

"The last thing I expected was that I'd be using it to chase down…." Rodney looked up at his teammates' tense faces and decided not to finish that sentence. Referring to John as bugified wasn't exactly going to help the situation. A second later, data started scrolling across the screen. "Got it. Do you want me to dial it now?"

"It would be wise to take a jumper and Wraith stunners as well," Teyla suggested. 

"Leave that to me." Ronon clapped his hand down on Rodney's shoulder. "Meet you at the jumper in five minutes. You're driving."

"Me?! Are you sure you want me to pilot it?"

Ronon hauled Rodney up by his shirtfront. "Yes."

Rodney blinked up at him. "Uh, okay. But one of us needs to tell Elizabeth that we're going after Sheppard."

"She is aware." Teyla pointed to the radio in her ear. "And approves. Dr. Beckett wants me to come by the infirmary before we leave."

"He's finished with the nanovirus?" A little late as far as Rodney was concerned. If they'd gotten the cure to Sheppard an hour ago, he never would have escaped.

With a quick nod, Teyla turned and ran toward the infirmary. Ronon had already left, off to the armory for a stunner, no doubt. Equally anxious, Rodney gathered up his things and headed for the jumper bay. 

Five minutes felt like forever. They had very little time left to save John and he sighed in relief when Ronon and Teyla came up the ramp just as he slid into the pilot's seat. 

He brought up the HUD while Teyla passed each of them a pair of auto-injectors. "Dr. Beckett had these all prepared. He suggests we use at least two to be effective. I'm afraid we will have to get quite close to John to administer them."

Ronon patted his blaster. "That's not going to be a problem."

Rodney lowered the jumper down to the gate room and punched in the address. They hovered there waiting for the ka-woosh, seconds ticking away like heartbeats. As soon as the gate stabilized, Rodney flew through it like a shot. He never even noticed how straight and true he'd aimed. 

Gate behind them, they flew out over an empty field. Nothing set it apart from a dozen other planets they'd visited. He had no idea why John had come here unless it was the only address his impaired brain could remember. Right now though, Rodney was just damn grateful he'd installed the address history protocol. Without it, they'd never find John in time. 

"Head that way." Ronon pointed toward the tree line in the distance. 

"Great. A forest. We'll have to land. I won't be able to fly into that," Rodney reminded him. 

"Perhaps you should fly over it first and see if his SubQ shows up," Teyla suggested.

"Good idea." Rodney slowed his approach.

"There!" Teyla pointed at the display. The HUD had pulled up a blue, glowing life sign signature. "It's John, I am certain of it."

"It's in the middle of the forest. Of course, it's him." Rodney scowled. 

The jumper homed in on John and began flying straight for him without any physical guidance. Rodney had a suspicion that there was more to it than simply picking out the largest life sign in range "Teyla, why did you and Ronon insist I fly the jumper?"

"You're the most motivated," Ronon said when Teyla hesitated to speak up. 

"We're all motivated, aren't we?"

"We are," Teyla reassured him. "But Ronon is right. Of everyone with the Ancient gene, you are the most motivated. The jumper will work hardest for you. Surely you have noticed by now." 

"Not really." Preoccupied with landing he smoothly brought the jumper down at the forest's edge. "This is as close as I can get to Sheppard's position."

Teyla's comment finally sunk in and he turned to look at her. "Are you saying that the jumper wants to find Sheppard as much as we do?"

"She's saying the jumper knows how much you want to find him. It's helping where it can. Like that landing. You did it almost as well as Sheppard." Ronon shoved a Wraith stunner into Rodney's hands. "It's a good thing." 

He was still gaping like a fish when Ronon and Teyla left the jumper. "Wait up!"

Ronon tucked his pair of auto-injectors into his shirt. "I'm going on ahead. You'll just slow me down. I'll radio you as soon as I find him." Not bothering to wait for a reply, he took off for the forest at a run. 

"If you stun him, we'll have to carry him all the way back!" Rodney yelled despite knowing his protest came far too late. He fumbled with the large stunner, trying to find the most comfortable way to carry it. It was proving to be a pain in the ass. 

"Go on ahead, Teyla. I'll just slow you down too." He patted his wide, pants pocket. "I've got my injectors in easy reach, and trust me when I say I know how to use them."

"Are you sure?" She asked. 

He pulled out the life signs detector and pointed at the pair of white dots located side by side. "I'll use this to follow you. Now go. I'll catch up." 

Once she was out of sight, Rodney began to realize just how big, dark, and scary a looming forest could look. 

*** 

John hissed. The bridge crossing still blocked his way. The remnants of his human memory insisted that it was far enough above the water to be safe. He took a daring first step onto the bridge. It creaked with age and he clung to the sides, inching his way across. Trembling he screwed up his courage and leapt the last two yards. Once he was safe on the other side, John couched panting, claws digging into the solid earth, and waited for his scales to stop crawling. 

As he recovered, he picked up a new scent in the air. The hive memory of dark, deep earth and safety brought him to his feet. Caves were close by; he could taste them. With a low-throated trill of excitement, John began his search for the perfect home. 

The first cave he came to wasn't deep enough. A low, shallow cave left eggs too exposed to predators. John went deeper into the forest, his hindbrain pushing him on, urging him to build a nest, to find a place suitable for his future egg sacks. It didn't matter that he intended to steal the eggs. Iratus instinct didn't care—breeding was on his mind. The urge to rut and spread his seed warmed his blood as he hunted for the perfect nesting cave.

*** 

Light filtered down through the forest canopy filling Rodney's path with shadows. Shadows where anything could be lurking. Rodney checked the LSD again. Ronon and Teyla were currently out of range and the largest things showing up weren't any bigger than Earth squirrels. But this was Pegasus. They were probably mutant, scientist-biting, squirrelly rodent things with poisonous fangs. 

He sat down on a moss-covered log and set the bulky stunner to one side. Not that he wasn't grateful to have it, but it had grown heavier the longer he carried it. He pulled off his boots and gave them a good shake. He knew there was a rock in there somewhere because it was digging into his heel like a dentist drill.

A twig snapped and he jumped. He grabbed up the stunner and fired. 

"Oh great, I stunned a mutant squirrel." he poked at the furry stiff body with the pointed tip of the stunner. "Huh. At least my aim is improving." 

His reverie was interrupted by his radio. "Rodney, this is Teyla. Come in." 

He tapped his comm."Here. Where are you?" Rodney put his boots back on as he talked. Rock-free thank god.

"We have found John's tracks near a bridge. Ronon has gone on ahead to find him. Would you like me to wait here for you?"

"Where is this bridge?" Rodney asked.

"It is approximately two clicks and fifteen degrees south of the jumper's position."

The tension in Teyla's voice betrayed just how badly she wanted to forge ahead. Rodney resigned himself to continuing his lonely trudge through the forest. Then again, maybe he'd get lucky and they'd find John and they'd all be on their way back before he even got there. 

"I remember seeing that river when we did a flyover. You go on ahead. I'm on my way. McKay out."

Turning until he faced the right direction, he hefted the stunner, straightened his shoulders, and firmed his chin. He could do this. At least the mutant squirrels weren't going to be a problem. 

*** 

John chittered in excitement. He'd found it. The narrow entrance of the cave gave way to a wide deep cavity, deep enough to keep any egg sacks high off the floor. In nesting mode, he gathered armfuls of leafy debris and soft moss and brought them into the cave. 

He arranged them into a pile until he was satisfied with the result. Instinct told him it wouldn't be as warm as he wanted but at least he'd be up off the hard earth. All he left to do was hide the entrance. 

Stepping outside he caught the scent of a predator. His nest was in danger! John scurried up the nearest large tree. He followed the scent, leaping from tree to tree, branch to branch until he closed in on the source of the threat.

A hunter moved just a few feet below him. Baring his teeth, John jumped. He was still midair when fire exploded over every nerve. Paralyzed, he hit the ground hard. Unable to look away, he watched as the hunter casually holstered his weapon. 

John recognized his attacker; he'd attacked John once before in the city place. He held back a growl. He'd have to be more clever with this one. Feeling started coming back into his limbs and he pretended to be still frozen as he patiently waited for his chance to escape.

He watched through slitted eyes as the hunter reached inside his clothing and pulled out a needlestick. It smelled dangerous and the sight of it made John's blood cool. An odd, stray memory warned him that it had something to do with poisoned food. 

John hissed low in the back of his throat. Whatever the hunter had planned, he wanted no part of it. 

"This is probably going to hurt," the hunter said. He held the needlestick in his hand and was coming straight for him. 

Snarling, John forced himself up. He ignored the lingering numbness in his protesting limbs and shoved the hunter in the chest with all of his strength, hurling him away. 

John grabbed up the needlestick and threw it against a tree with enough force to break it into pieces. Good. Hackles raised, he hissed another warning, turned, and ran. 

*** 

Rodney's radio buzzed. He clicked his earpiece and heard Ronon say, "Teyla, McKay, come in." 

Teyla responded over the radio first. "Ronon, is something wrong?" 

"I had Sheppard but he got away."

"Are you all right?" she asked. 

"He tossed me like a sack of Tava beans, but I'm okay."

"Ronon, wait for me. I'm on my way to you now," Teyla said. "I should be there very soon."

"Did you administer Carson's retrovirus?" Rodney asked. He patted his pocket to make sure his auto-injectors were still there. 

"No, and I'm down to one needle. I found the other one smashed to pieces. It's worse. Now he knows we're hunting him, he's going to be harder to track."

They were discussing the merits of meeting back at the jumper versus ganging up on Sheppard in the forest when the hair began to stand up on the back of Rodney's neck. He slowly turned and looked straight into Sheppard's blue face. 

"He's here! He's—" 

John snatched the radio away from him and threw it into the woods. Panicked, Rodney fumbled with his pants pocket, and finally got his hand on one of the auto-injectors. Before he could think about it, he drove it into the center of Sheppard's chest. 

"Oh god. I'm sorry… I'm…." The spent cartridge fell out of Rodney's nerveless hand and dropped to the forest floor. "Please don't kill me." He braced himself for pain, frozen in fear.

He watched as John rubbed his chest in confusion and then looked back up at Rodney. He opened his mouth and flicked his tongue in the air.

"Jesus, Sheppard, are you smelling me?" 

John tilted his head, blinked, and leaned closer. Rodney felt the warm, wet touch of John's tongue just under his ear. He tilted his head back, giving John better access since it seemed to keep him calm. But fuck, it felt far more sensual than it should. 

Rodney drew in a shaky breath. "Look, I don't know how long it will take for the shot to take effect. Carson wanted you to have two and well, somehow I don't think you're going to just lie back and think of Atlantis while I inject you with another dose." 

John looked at him with a curious expression, and extended one clawed hand. His sharp blue nails scraped down the fastenings of Rodney's vest, opening it. He poked at it growing more impatient until he managed to shove it off Rodney's body and it fell to the ground. He turned his attention to Rodney's shirt.

More gently than Rodney would have given him credit for, he poked at the fabric. His claws tore large holes in the shirt, but miraculously left Rodney's skin unscathed. 

He wasn't at all sure how well Sheppard understood anything right now, but it didn't stop him from protesting.

"Hey, clothes on! That's—now you've gone and ripped it. First my vest and then my shirt. I just got that shirt broken in too." 

He pulled off the remains of his shirt sleeve and dropped it on the ground along with his damaged tac vest. At least the remaining injector was still safe in his pants pocket, assuming Sheppard didn't try to rip off his pants off too. 

Rodney folded his arms over the ragged remains of his shirt. John's toothy smile didn't reassure him one little bit. Now what? John seemed more interested in sniffing him than hurting him. 

With luck, he'd just have to wait and let Carson's cure do its work. Once John became more lucid, he could explain why he needed the second dose. But first, he had to come up with a plan to keep John from getting spooked and running off into the woods.

He tried to remember all the tricks he'd used to coax Pixel into the cat carrier. Forget tuna, John was no cat, but he did have a power bar tucked away in his other pocket. There was something about feeding the beast—

It was hard to think. Sheppard's sniffing hadn't stopped and now he'd escalated to licking. 

"What the hell are you doing?" Rodney yelped when John picked him up and tossed him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "When this is over and you're one hundred percent back to yourself you can just forget about making any kind of—you Tarzan, me Jane jokes." 

The long list of intended threats died on Rodney's lips. John, the bastard, had decided it was a good idea to start running while still holding him. The forest floor bobbed up and down in front of his eyes and it took all his focus not to throw up from the resulting vertigo. 

John continued to carry him until they reached a cave. He might have lost his backpack, the stunner, and half his clothes, but by dint of pure persistence, Rodney managed to hang onto the second dose of retrovirus. 

"You should know I'm not impressed by your display of strength," Rodney muttered when John dumped him on his ass onto a bunch of hay.

Feeling hot, and flushed, Rodney swore under his breath. This had to be the worst time possible for his kink for being manhandled to raise its head. He'd managed to keep it a secret for years and he sure as hell didn't need to give John Sheppard more ammo to tease him with. 

He'd always known, ever since high school when the team's senior goalie had pushed him up against the lockers and demanded to know what a squirt like him could do for the hockey team. He'd apologized later, once Rodney had proven how fast he was on the ice, but for the next three months, Rodney had popped a woody every time he walked into the boys' locker room.

To make matters worse, John seemed very interested in Rodney's current state. All the sniffing and licking certainly didn't help deflate—things. John stared down at him with bright, interested eyes. In one swift move, he pinned Rodney's arms over his head. 

Oh goody. That just succeeded in ramping his kink up another notch. Rodney groaned. There was no hiding his interest now. Maybe if they both got off…. 

He searched John's face for some sign of returning lucidity. No, this was a bad idea. He'd be using John and he'd never forgive Rodney for that once he came to his senses. 

The thought of damaging their friendship and picturing the look of betrayal in John's eyes was as effective as having a bucket of ice water dumped into his lap. Rodney sat up and gently pushed John away surprised when he let him.

John sat back on his heels and blinked. He opened his mouth and let out one tiny, distressed chirp. A moment later, his eyes rolled back in his head and he tipped over backward.

"Sheppard?"

John lay on the ground in a dead faint. Passed out. Rodney decided he'd never get a better chance. This time he aimed for a large thigh muscle instead of resorting to panicked jab to the chest. John's pants were torn and ragged and he had to tear most of the material away to find a patch of skin free of scales. 

John's leg was completely blue now, and the scales ran all the way from his ankle to several inches above his knee. Taking more care this time, he injected John with the second dose. "You'll thank me for this later."

Now he had nothing to do but wait. Rodney hated waiting. He'd dropped his pack but he still had matches and a couple of power bars. Food wouldn't be an issue but water could become a problem if Ronon and Teyla didn't find them soon. 

But for now, he'd put his energy into making them both more comfortable. Taking the remains of his torn shirt, he rolled it into a makeshift pillow and tucked it under John's head. At least they were off the ground thanks to the huge mound of grass they were on. 

He briefly debated the merits of going back to the jumper. Not only could he radio Atlantis for help, he could bring back food and water. Only, he wasn't entirely sure he could find his way back to the cave. 

Still unconscious, John rolled towards him almost as if he were reaching for help. Rodney finally had to admit that there was no way he would leave John alone. Carefully, he cradled John's head in his lap.

The roughened, thorny looking skin and blue scales didn't bother him. John Sheppard was still in there, he knew it like he knew his own heart.

"You're shivering." Rodney had no idea if this was a normal reaction to the drug or not. He gently carded his fingers through John's hair trying to offer comfort. John curled against him, unconsciously seeking his body's warmth. 

Rodney sighed. "Look, I'll be right back. I'm just going to start a small fire near the entrance. You'll be warmer and hopefully, we won't suffocate before Ronon notices the smoke and finds us."

"Won't," John drily croaked. He lifted one finger and pointed up at the high ceiling. "Won't suffocate."

"You're awake. It's about time. How are you feeling? Are you—you again? John?"

John closed his eyes. "Cold."

"Working on that. We'll have you back to Atlantis in no time."

Rodney stood up, relieved to finally be doing something. He kept on eye on John as he gathered up handfuls of dried grass and leaves. He refused to think about the odd lurch in his chest when he saw John holding onto the makeshift pillow and rubbing his face on the remnants of Rodney's shirt for comfort. 

Grass and leaves didn't make for a very long lasting fire, but it did smoke well. Hopefully, it would be enough. He went over to sit by John. "You're looking better. Less blue."

"Rod…ney. Yesss." John climbed into Rodney's lap. 

"Oh, Sheppard, you are going to be so embarrassed about this later." The smile slid off his face when he touched John's forehead. "You're burning up."

John tried to nestle closer.

"C'mon Ronon, pull your Satedean tracking shit together and find us. I don't know if John can hold out much longer."

"I heard that." 

"Ronon! Teyla! You're here." His teammates stood at the cave entrance. They looked hot and tired but all in one piece. 

Ronon scuffed out the fire and kicked dirt over it. "This was a good idea, McKay."

Teyla came forward, immediately took in the situation and passed Rodney a canteen of water. "I see you found John."

He held it to John's lips encouraging him to drink. "It's more accurate to say he found me." He caught Teyla's eye. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you guys." 

"We are glad to see you too. Ronon found pieces of your shirt. We were…concerned."

"I'm fine. But we need to get back to Atlantis as soon as possible." Rodney stood and helped John to his feet. 

"Did you give him the drug?" Ronon asked. 

"All of it. It's working, but he's burning up. Teyla, did Carson say if it was supposed to do that?"

She shook her head no.

Ronon lifted John's arm and slung over his shoulder, propping him up. "Then we need to go, now."

How Ronon managed the entire walk back to the jumper supporting John the entire way, Rodney would never know. They'd only stopped once to give John more water and to see if his temperature had gone down. No one in their right mind could call their brief stop an actual break. Just ask Rodney's legs. Which—ow. 

While Teyla encouraged John to drink more water, Rodney slipped his last power bar into Ronon's hand. Seeing his raised eyebrow Rodney nervously cleared his throat. "To keep your strength up. It's um, chocolate chip. Your favorite."

"I thought we were out of these?" 

"I ah, might have tucked a few away. For emergencies. Which this is." Rodney cleared his throat. "So there's no need to bring it up again."

Ronon took a huge bite and grinned. "Thanks, McKay."

They were all feeling the urgency of getting John back to Atlantis and they double-timed it the rest of the way. Once the jumper was in sight, his weariness left him and Rodney sprinted ahead. The jumper's hatch opened of its own accord—that was something he'd be discussing with John later— and Rodney hurried to pilot's seat. 

"Atlantis. This is McKay. We have Sheppard. Have a medical team waiting."

"Rodney, Carson here. Were you able to administer the retrovirus?"

"We did. Two doses of the stuff."

"Thank god. Well— hurry through, lad."

Rodney already had the jumper in the air and shot a direct line for the gate. 

"Dr. Beckett, Colonel Sheppard is running a temperature and has lost consciousness at least once," Teyla pressed a cold pack to John's forehead. "Lie back, John, we will have you home soon."

"Not entirely unexpected," Carson assured them. Although I'm a might worried about the loss of consciousness. What's your ETA?"

"Ronon is dialing the gate now." She flashed a smile in Rodney's direction. "Dr. McKay has made exceptional time."

*** 

Rodney looked up from his laptop when his door chime rang. A glance at the time said it was well after supper. Damn, he'd worked through mealtime again. "Come in."

John poked his head in the door. "Carson let me out. Finally."

"It's only been a few days. I didn't think it would work that fast." 

John shrugged. "Beckett says I'm one hundred percent, John Sheppard, again." 

He stepped into the room and held out his arm for Rodney's inspection. The only evidence of John’s bug-sporting days lay in a single blue bump on his arm. While still evident, it was a much paler shade. "He said even this should be gone in a few weeks."

"I came by a few times—when you were in the infirmary." Rodney felt it was important John knew that. 

"I remember. You were there a lot actually." 

"Oh. I didn't realize you knew. You seemed pretty out of it most of the time."

John took a step closer. "I remember a lot of things."

Rodney stood up so fast his chair tipped over. 

"I remember you saved me," John continued. "You, Teyla and Ronon, you didn't give up on me even when I was mostly a bug by then. I won't ever forget that."

"You remember what happened on PX2-849?" Oh god—did John remember the licking? More importantly, did he remember Rodney's reaction?

"Yeah. And I remember something else." His eyes crinkled in a smile. "You like me. And by that I mean, you really like me."

Heat rose in Rodney's cheeks. John knew. "Ahh. It's—it's well known that kinks don't have a logical explanation and—you're not going to punch me are you?"

"Punch? No. I'm going to do this." John reached out and curled his fists into Rodney's shirt. With one sharp yank, they were suddenly only inches apart. With one hand he reached down and cupped Rodney's erection. "I thought so. You like this."

Rodney whimpered.

"Good. I like this too," John husked. He licked up the side of Rodney's throat and nipped his chin. You want me to pin you to the bed."

Rodney's cock grew harder, straining against his pants. Shivering—that had nothing to do with being cold—he tilted his head to give John better access. He struggled against humping John's leg. Well fuck. He'd tried at least. 

"I knew it. I knew I remembered this right. God, do you have any idea how long I've wanted…" John pushed him against the wall and pinned his hands over his head. 

"You wanted me?" Rodney gasped. "I didn’t know."

"You weren't supposed to." John let go just long enough to pull Rodney's shirt off. "Jesus, just look at your nipples. I've spent months thinking about doing this to them." He pinched one and then the other, tweaking them until they turned a rosy pink. "Perfect." 

Rodney had long passed dignity and was close to begging. "Don't you dare leave me hanging you bastard," he panted. 

"Do you want me to tie you down?" John husked in his ear. "I think you do. I think you're about to get off just thinking about it and what I could do to you, lying there all pretty and willing for me."

Rodney squeezed his eyes shut and bit back a moan. John had him dead to rights. He was already so hard from thinking about it, he'd cripple himself if he tried to walk right now. "John, please."

There were a dozen pieces of tech littering Rodney's bed. John threw them all off with a swipe of his arm. "This isn't going to happen unless you say you want this."

Rodney nodded frantically.

"Use words or this doesn't happen," John warned.

"For fuck's sake, of course, I want it. Or isn't my raging hard on enough of a clue for you?"

A smile twitched at the corner of John's mouth. "Duly noted."

Rodney’s clothes felt hot against his skin and he couldn't wait to get them off but John had other ideas. 

"Let me." John made Rodney stand still while he removed his clothing piece by piece. 

He took his time doing it, too. John tasted each inch of bare skin he exposed. Once he had Rodney's shirt off, he spent a long time exploring the stretch of muscle running from Rodney's collarbone to a spot just below his ear. 

"I had a lot of time to think in the infirmary." John's hot breath teased Rodney's bare skin. 

He trailed his fingers down over Rodney's pecs and circled his left nipple. "I have a long list of things I want to do to you.

Rodney dropped his head down onto John's shoulder. "Please, John. This teasing is killing me. I swear if you ever want hot showers again you'll do something right now."

Because his head was bent, he never saw the wicked gleam in John's eyes. 

Done teasing, John stripped both of them out of their remaining clothes with startling efficiency. Enough so that it reminded Rodney of the quick, sharp movements John possessed while he was still part bug. Before he could finish that thought he found himself flat on his back with his hands held above his head trapped in John's strong grip. 

John might be one-hundred percent human according to Carson but there were definitely some side effects still clinging on. That—wasn't entirely bad. His cock certainly didn't think so. Watching John through his eyelashes, he let his thighs drop wide open. Rodney had always considered pretense a waste of time. 

"Keep your hands where they are," John growled.

Mutely, Rodney nodded. It was increasingly hard to think, let alone talk. He threw his head back and moaned when John's callused hand wrapped around his aching cock and pulled. The movements were rough, jerky and exactly what Rodney needed. He tried to lift his hips begging for more. 

Having none of that, John pinned Rodney's hips down as effectively as he'd pinned his hands down earlier. The evil grin he flashed Rodney was the only warning he got. 

John's mouth came down over his cock, sucking him in and turning Rodney's world turned into one of pure sexual sensation. Nothing existed beyond John's mouth, throat, tongue, and the slow, sweet-hot torture of having his cock sucked. 

Holding back wasn't an option—couldn't be under John's determined attention. He came, pouring himself down John's greedy throat. It left him boneless. Even his eyelids felt too heavy to lift. "John…. You?"

"I've got it." John leaned over him. "Do you have any idea how good you smell like this? How good you look, loose and well fucked. God, you're so hot." 

Rodney lifted his eyes to see John crouched over him, his hand sliding roughly over his cock. He was moments from coming all over Rodney's chest.

"Do it, John. I…I want…oh god, yes, I want it, come all over me, give me all of it. Oh please do it, he begged, arching up as if he could meet John halfway. 

John groaned. He came hard, leaving warm streaks over Rodney's chest. Not done yet, he smeared the mess over Rodney's nipples furthering his claim. 

By the time he finished John had made such a solid point of claiming him that Rodney didn't have the heart to suggest washing it off and to be honest, he wasn't sure he wanted to. Not yet anyway. He took one of John's come smeared hands and licked off his fingers, one by one. "Come here." 

Once they were settled comfortably, and Rodney began to drift off to sleep, John surprised him by wanting to talk. "What?"

"You, Teyla, and Ronon left Atlantis to find me. You knew I wasn't exactly human anymore. Hell, I was so far gone I fought back. I hurt Ronon and probably would have hurt Teyla too, but you—despite all that, you didn't give up on me.

Rodney held his breath waiting for John to finish.

"You didn't just save me. Despite the ugly changes and losing my mind, you still wanted me. Still found something of John Sheppard left in that mess. Without you, you stubborn son-of-a-bitch, I don't think.…" John scrubbed his hands over his face. "God, Rodney, I was running on pure instinct by then. But somehow you got through to me and I knew I needed to hold on, just a little bit longer."

"Of course I knew you were in there somewhere—idiot." Rodney poked him in the head.

"I'm serious, Rodney. You took an awful chance. I could have killed you." 

"In that case, you can tell everyone how fantastically brave I was. I won't stop you." 

John chuckled. "I'll make sure all the Marines are suitably impressed."

To his surprise, John laid his head on Rodney's chest and hummed in contentment. 

"It wasn't just the bug you that wanted to cuddle with me, it was you—you," Rodney said with stunned realization.

"Maybe. Didn't seem to be a problem then. Is it now?" John asked without lifting his head from its comfortable spot on Rodney's chest.

"Hmm, let me think about it." Over the last few days, he'd come to accept that John Sheppard, in any incarnation, was a danger to his heart. Dangerous, crazy, reckless and he wouldn't change a damn thing. 

He carded his fingers through John's soft, sex-mussed hair. "Nope, Not a problem at all."

~*~


End file.
